How to Use Drain Tile

Pinpoint waterlogged areas and places where puddles stand for more than an hour. Lay rope through these areas to a drainage outlet and adjust the path so the route is as straight as possible.

Excavate a canal 8 to 12 inches wide at the top and about 18 inches deep with a shovel. Make the walls curved and dig the bottom of the trench on a 1/4 inch decline for every foot of length. This slight slope ensures water flows toward the outlet.

Lay permeable landscape fabric over the bottom of the canal and secure it in place with lawn spikes in each corner.

Pour clean gravel into the bottom and tamp it with a tamper so you have a base 6 inches thick.

Lay 4-inch rigid PVC perforated drain tiles in the center of the trench. If the tiles only have holes on one side, turn the holes to face downward. Use a combination of wye and 45-degree elbow fittings to join lengths of pipe so the blade of a sewer snake can properly travel through should you need to unclog the pipes in the future.

Pull a fabric drain pipe sleeve over the pipe to guard it from small particles of debris.

Shovel another 6-inch thick layer of gravel over the pipes and set geotextile fabric on top of the gravel to block sediment.

Fill the remaining canal with the soil you removed earlier. If it has a clay consistency, mix an equal portion of compost or sand with the soil to make it more water absorbent. Spread grass seed over the surface so it blends with the rest of the yard.